Saturday, August 13, 2011

*update 8-10-11I am told that the power company has rented space for the next 18 months or so at the old I-94 Speedway site for storage of the power polls that are in construction along the freeway all the way from Monticello to Fargo. No new racing is planned at I-94 Speedway.

After talking with people on all sides of the situation, I believe that I-94 Speedway (Sauk Centre, MN) will never again be open as a racetrack.

The back concessions stand has been torn down and some gravel and fill have been moved around, but this recent activity has nothing to do with racing. The sound system has been removed and any modification of the property is in an effort to increase the efficiency of storage space for the current owner of the land.

The south parking lot is now a storage area for wood logs and the "pits" area is filled with semi-tractors and trailers.

The track has been vacant for only a year but, the wooden seats on the backstretch stands are already warped and separating.

The racetrack itself looks like a super sized chia-pet gone bad. Waist high weeds are growing through the dirt surface all the way around this 3/8th mile track.

19 seasons of racing at this amazing facility 1991-2009. 4 years of dirt racing and 15 years as an asphalt track.

I-94 Speedway was built by Dick Johanneck and opened in 1991 as a dirt track.

Notable events:

In 1993 Scott Bloomquist won the UMP Summer Nationals event, he set a fast time of 15.44 seconds and held off Billy Moyer.

1993 Craig Dollansky and Tim Monson won the "Outlaw" Sprint double feature races. Doug Wolfgang finished second in both races. Donny Schatz finished third in the second feature.

April 21 of 1994: Dick Johanneck announced he was switching the track surface to asphalt because it was "the future of racing."

Monday, May 2, 2011

Former I-94 Raceway driver Gordy Mason passed away of an apparent hear attack on Sunday May 1st, 2011 at the age of 54.

Gordy was a driver in the Limited Late Model division at I-94 Raceway for many years, his most successful year was 2004 when he finished 2nd place in the point standings.

I will remember Gordy's sharp looking #1 car always looking flawless, if he had a scrape one night, it was fixed before the next week. He was a gentleman driver, never causing trouble, yet always trying hard.

His sponsors & crew were always on his mind, he gave me a list every year of his most important sponsors and helpers, he always mentioned his wife, I think they celebrated their wedding anniversary at the track every year.

WaterJet cutting was a big sponsor for him, he would bring me examples of the metal shapes they could cut with water. I can still remember his sponsors: Precision Gasket, WaterJet cutting and C C Engineering, one year his sponsors came to the track and rented all the track owned U-CARS, they all raced and had an absolute blast. I think we had over a dozen different people racing those cars that night.

Funeral service is set for Friday (May 6) at 10am at Minnewashta Church in Shorewood MN. Visitation will be one hour before the funeral on Friday and from 5-8pm on Thursday (May 5th) at the Huber Funeral home in Excelsior MN.
Rest In Peace Gordy, you were a perfect example of a respectful racer.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Mary Beth Cripe (photo above) was the track promoter during these years, racing was Friday nights at 8pm.

April 21st of 1994 Dick Johanneck announced at a press conference, at the Hayloft in Sauk Centre that he was starting a $120,000 project to pave the I-94 race track. That was when the "new style" of racing began, Dick was quoted as saying that tar racing "is the future of racing." I taped that press conference and replayed it back on KMSR radio.

Track announcer Steve Domine started off the 1994 season back at the track by playing a song over the loud speaker, "The boys are back in town," by Thin Lizzy. Initially the thinking was to run dirt cars on the tar track... now its evolved into so dirt cars are not legal or not competitive in many of the classes. When the tar was new it was fast but, one groove and hard to pass, quickly many dirt fans went away. Eugene Dick was the first late Model feature winner as well as the first point Champion.

The most exciting divison:
The Mod 4 cars had the most consistent car counts, had great racing, and brought up some nice talent. Some of the top divers in the Mod 4 divison were: Dave Stork, Loyal Skuza, John Notch, Jason Voight, Quin Schreiber, Scott Atkinson, Dave Schaeffer, Shannon Johanneck, Frog Norenberg, Frank Gabrelcik, Dave Ostendorf, Kevin Woeste, Dave Shirmers and Jodi Clark.

Best newspaper reporter: (other than Dean of course)
Robin Cook at the St Cloud times did numerous articles and features about drivers and issues surrounding the I-94 Speedway.

Best Interview:
Late Model runner up in 1995 and 1996 Jesse "the Kid" Klug.

Best Point battle:
1996 Larry Rossell edged Steve Johanneck by 1 point and it went down to the last lap of the last feature.

1996 was the first year for the UCARS that came down from Fergus Falls, and the Great North Legends that came up from the Twin Cities. The Winged 360 Sprint cars ran on some Wednesday nights and burned off a right rear tire every race, they also lifted their left front tire off the ground exiting corners two and four.

Two big events took place during this time. The inaugural Governors Cup on Sep 11 1994. It was a $2500 to win 100 lap race. Michael Waltrip (photo below) was brought in to be a celebrity driver to get added publicity, he crashed on the first lap of racing when his throttle stuck going into corner number three. Michael later told me that when he tried to hit the brakes his knee hit the steering wheel because he didnt fit into the car (he is 6 foot 5 inches tall). He and his wife Buffy stayed and signed autographs for at least an hour after he was done racing. Steve Carlson won the race, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Cywinski and future I-94 owner Tim Olson also raced in that event.

The Missing Kids Indy Car 200 with the American Indy Car series on Sunday Aug 4 1996. Patty Wetterling threw the green flag to start this 150 lap race. It rained hard in the morning and that scared some of the crowd but, the track dried off and 11 Indy cars raced. Greg Gordon won and MN Sprint car driver Travis Whitney finished third in only his second day in an Indy Car. Future CART series winner Jacques Lazier finished fourth, he is the brother of INDY 500 winner Buddy Lazier.

1994-1996 was an exciting time at I-94, everything was new and alot of effort was put into promoting the "Newest asphalt tracks in MN." Kyle Petty's Mello Yellow car was on display one week at the track and Mary Beth Cripe began a long tradition of kids "Box Car racing," during intermission.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The first promoter was Don Engebretson and racing was on Friday nights at 8pm. I did a radio show on Saturday mornings from 9:30-10am which featured the track announcer Steve Domine and I recorded three interviews with drivers from the pits per week. I kept the same format through all eight years of the show and it was broadcast on KMSR 94.3 FM. My very first interview was with Sauk Centre native Terry Merten after the opening night of racing in 1991. The best interview over those years was with #4f Late Model driver Jeff Hinkemeyer who finished 2nd place in the points in 1992.

The two most interesting characters at the track were Tyrone Swanson who won the 1993 Sportsman division championship. He was known to have fallen asleep in his shop underneath the race car. Flagman Doug Clark was flown up to the track by Dick Johanneck all the way from Knoxville IA every weekend to flag the races, he was always good for a story, did you know he was blind in one eye?

The best rivalry had to be Jamie Lemke vs Ron Jones in the Modifieds in 1993. Lemke won the championship and two races that year but Jones won 8 races. It was the most hard-nosed competitive racing you will ever see, those two duked it out every single night that summer.

The biggest event had to be the UMP Summer Nationals in 1993. 39 Late Models attempted to qualify for that race. Fast time was set by Scott Bloomquist with a 15.44. I remember the tailgate section was full of cars and the front grandstand was packed with fans all paying the $15 admission. It was a great feature with a strong field of cars (it took 17 laps before even one car was lapped).

Bloomquist (pictured above) took the early lead after starting third, he never gave up the top spot. Billy Moyer (pictured below with Jason) finished 2nd and Bob Pierce third. Our local drivers had a tough time as Steve Fegers broke a front suspension, Rick Aukland and Jerry Leggat both bowed out with blown tires, Jimmy Mars rubbed the wall and Joel Criderman got a DNF. This was the first major event scheduled at I-94 Speedway and it was a big success.

The Outlaw Sprint car event in 1993 was a Saturday night show, the same night as Viking Speedway, I was asked to announce at Viking that night so I didn't get to see the race at I-94. They did two unlimited Sprint Car features and legendary racer Doug Wolfgang finished second in both events. Craig Dollansky and Tim Monson were the two winners and Donny "the kid" Schatz got third place in the first feature.

The track surface proved to be quite the challenge...on calm nights the dust would hang in the air for an hour after the races were over. Mud was flung up on the wall so the walls had to be scraped with shovels after every feature which caused lengthy delays, but the rocks caused most of the problems. I was hit in the head by a gum-ball sized rock (some say that explains a lot) and it broke my glasses, unfortunately I wasn't the only one who had a problem with flying stones. Promoter Mary Beth Cripe was quoted in a 1995 St Cloud Times article that 18 claims were filed with the insurance company in 1993 and that is what instigated Dick Johanneck to make a big change.... and that is the focus of I-94 History part two "New fast asphalt 1994-1996," keep checking back for the next installment of this four part series.

Its fun to remember the history of this great racing facility, I hope you enjoy it as well.

Monday, January 3, 2011

"The first and early years at the track." A few observations from Steve Domine, track announcer 1991-2000.

Racing in Sauk Centre MN began for me in the summer of 1969. Our moving truck came up the interstate ramp to see a cloud of dust which turned out to be the Sunday afternoon races taking place at the old fairgrounds track. If you wanted to win at "Centre Raceway" you had to deal with the stars of the time. Terry Merten ruled the "B Stock" class (which meant big V8's) driving his familiar green Edsel, while Lee Vogt was the face of the "C Stock" class with his sharp looking 55-56 Chev. The "fast guy" list at that time included John Terfehr in Jack Korton's Merc, LeRoy Frieler in the Lake Henry Implement #36 (you can still find an Elrosa #36 winning today), Mick Engle in his burnt orange 56 Ford, Emil Polipnick & Don Leonard in the #88 White Knight, and the grand daddy of the sport, Bob Ufkin driving the #26 Mopar. There were many more, but this group comes to mind quickly.

The birth of I 94 Speedway came in 1991 thanks to Dick Johanneck and his team. A lot of people drive race cars, but only a few become true racers. Dick is a true blue "racer", and he built the finest racing facility of it's time that quickly became the place to be if you wanted to race the best.

As I look back, this is what I will remember...
Packed grandstands down the back stretch, thru the 3-4, and down the main straight. (I always wondered what I was missing up in that 3-4 turn in 1991 and 1992).

The first year with Championship Sprints. Ron Carlson wins the championship, and we all found a new appreciation for the cars with one speed. Flat out.

Doug Clark: His first pit meeting. The wild eyed drivers quickly learned that this guy was in charge.

More Doug Clark: Remember the night that he sent Dick Johanneck's #7 LM to the pits for what Dick called a "little bump" up in the 3-4? Try that with the boss a few times.

Even More Doug Clark: When a 15 yr old Donny Shatz crashed his primary sprint in practice, rolled out the back up and set fast time: Doug asked me "what did you say that boy's name was?" Then he said,
"I will tell you this, if he lives to be 25, he will be winning World of Outlaw Championships." This should tell you what Doug knows about the game.

The scary crash that point leading Ricky Kluver took in his modified, but even more, the triumphant return to a successful racing career.

The night Terry Merten hung his modified half way up the 1-2 catch fence. Terry was quite "encouraging" as he sat in that car ten feet off of the ground waiting for the wrecker guys to figure out how to get him down. I can tell you this, Terry was quite sure that his belts were not coming off until that Modified was on the ground! I wish I had a tape of what I heard over my headset.

Note: Waltrip flattened his rented car by crushing the wall in the practice session. (Dick arranged for another car in time for the feature for Mr. Waltrip to drive)

Buzz Cripe's (in Bloomquist photo above) transformation from many time Champion LM driver to one of the best flagman in the business. (It was tough to fake it with Buzz. He had already seen it all from the drivers seat.)

The night Harry "the Horsethief" Johnson drove his sprinter into the catch pond. Completely underwater, wing and all. He reported that his shield fogged over in the late summer night, and he simply tried to get off of the track. Unfortunately, he rolled in the pond. The wrecker guys voted quickly as to who was going swimming with the hook to get him safely out. Harry was mostly concerned with his engine!

Thanks to Dick Johanneck for allowing me to drive his wicked Late Model on the freshly paved I 94. After about 10 laps at about as fast as you should drive someone else's racecar, I came in thinking maybe the right front was going flat. The vision of the smirk on the face of Dick and Buzz is very fresh in my mind as I got out of the car to explain this "tire deal" to them. Buzz explained later that the sensation was "simply the left front lifting off of the ground a little bit." I cannot help but think that these two veterans must have been thinking get this guy back to the booth where he belongs!

The first time Shawn Kirwin got his modified on the asphalt, his crew chief mentioned "just get a feel for it". Shawn went out for practice, warmed the engine for a half of lap, and then did what he does best. Dropped the hammer. He drove that car "dirt style" for about 8 laps as fast as it can be done. He pulled in. As he got out, the crewchief walked around to the right rear which was bubbling, hissing air, and just about flat. Shawn exclaimed "it's perfect!". The crewchief then explained that "features are 30 laps, and we cannot afford to put tires on every 8 laps or so." It only took them a week or so to re-work the #10 Genuine Draft Modified to be one of the fastest on the track.

All of those LM and Modified invitationals. I particularly remember the modifieds. At the start of one of them, the car count and driver quality was so unmatched that it sparked a line that I still get ribbed about today. As I finished the introductions, I told the crowd: "IF YOU LIKE MODIFIEDS, YOU NEED TO GET READY. THIS IS GOING TO BE LIKE GETTING A DRINK OUT OF A FIRE HYDRANT. YOU ARE GOING TO GET WAY MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR IN A HURRY" They did. We all did.

I will remember the hard work of all of the track staff. Special mention to Karla, Mary Beth, and scorers Illa and Rox.

The Saturday mornings listening to Jason and his Pit Talk radio show with all of the great interviews.

Thanks to the drivers, crews, the people that paid the bills on the cars, and those that did all of the work to get those racecars back every week.

The track has gone silent, but the memories will stand for ever as I liked to say "I 94 Style!"